Getting the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers

The BBC exists to serve the public, and its mission is to inform, educate and entertain. The BBC Trust is the governing body of the BBC, and we make sure the BBC delivers that mission.

Led by Chairman Rona Fairhead, and consisting of 12 Trustees, the Trust is the guardian of licence fee revenue and of the public interest in the BBC.

The Trust is separate from the Executive Board which is led by the Director-General. The Executive Board is responsible for the operational delivery of BBC services and the direction of BBC editorial and creative output in line with the framework set by the Trust.

Our job is to get the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers.

We set the strategic objectives for the BBC. We have challenged the BBC to:

Make the most creative and distinctive output;

Innovate online to create a more personal BBC;

Serve all audiences; and

Improve value for money through a simpler, more efficient, and more open BBC.

We issue a service licence to every BBC service stating what we expect it to deliver and how much it can spend. We set the BBC’s editorial guidelines and protect the BBC’s independence. We monitor performance to ensure that the BBC provides value for money while staying true to its public purposes.

Here you can find out more about us, the decisions we have made and the way that we govern the BBC. Let us know if you have any feedback and comments.